In times of crisis, remittances have played a significant role in people’s survival and recovery. The most recent example comes from the global financial crisis, which began in the latter half of 2007. Bangladesh’s export sectors were affected by this downturn. Labour migration was also affected due to the decrease in the number of jobs available overseas and increasingly strict enforcement of restrictive immigration policies. However, the stock of Bangladeshi migrant workers who stayed in jobs overseas continued remitting money. Indeed, remittances have contributed to higher consumption and certain other benefits such as improved education and health. On the negative side, remittances are also seen as a major element of the speculative price-rise of the assets migrant households like to buy, such as, land. There is, now, a growing interest in improving financial services for better investment of savings from remittances and also in improving remittance management skills of the migrant workers and their households.
